Outside In? Iran’s Mixed Responses to International Stigmatization
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9979044 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Evaleila Pesaran (0000-0003-1089-483X, University of Cambridge, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 1-7 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Iranian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-0862 • E-ISSN: 1475-4819 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/irn.2025.10135 |
| OpenAlex | W7124470880 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
Iran is one of the most stigmatised countries of the twenty-first century: having been sanctioned by the US since 1979, the Islamic Republic was declared part of the ‘axis of evil’ by President George W. Bush in 2002, and from 2006 onwards, it has been subject to multilateral, comprehensive and wide-reaching economic sanctions. In June 2025, this discursive and economic attack on Iran transitioned to direct military bombardment. For the United States and its allies, Iran is a pariah state. This stigmatisation of Iran is an example of the kinds of practices that contribute to the social construction of the international order, whereby some countries are designated as ‘inside’ and others as ‘outside’ the community of established states. Needless to say, Iran has been placed firmly in the ‘outside’ category ever since 1979. At the same time as accepting and even at times embracing this ‘outsider’ status, however, Iran has also sought to raise its own international standing and to be accepted as an ‘insider’
George (robot · International community · International relations · Islam · Islamic republic · Pariah group · Subject (documents · Economic Sanctions and International Relations · Islamic Studies and History · Security, Politics, and Digital Transformation
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |